Meta confirms Lil Tay's account was hacked, legitimises rapper's claims

Lil Tay's death hoax has probably been one of the most absurd occurrences in contemporary pop culture. The news of the teenage rapper's alleged death, along with that of her brother's, sent shock waves through her fans and followers. Things however, got complicated when the internet personality came forward revealing herself (and her brother) to be very much alive. Lil Tay's story, first written off by many as a gimmick for attention, now stands legitimised by Meta. 

3 things you need to know

• Lil Tay's alleged passing was announced on August 9.
• -The very next day, on August 10, the news was contested by her family who insisted that both Lil Tay and her brother were very much alive.
• Lil Tay has had a complicated relationship with her fans, building a brash online persona for herself.

Meta sides with Lil Tay's narrative on the death hoax

Lil Tay's claims of the death hoax being orchestrated due to a hacked account has found credibility with a Meta spokesperson confirming her story. The spokesperson revealed that Meta did in fact help Lil Tay regain access to her hacked account. Lil Tay's account got hacked despite it having been largely inactive since 2018. 

(Lil Tay's Instagram account has been inactive since 2018 | Image: liltay/Instagram)

In a statement provided to her family by Lil Tay, the rapper cleared, "My Instagram account was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me, to the point that even my name was wrong." The statement also acknowledged Meta's role in corroborating her story and helping get her account back from the hacker.

What was the Lil Tay death hoax?

On August 9, Lil Tay's inactive Instagram account was refreshed with a post allegedly from her family, announcing the death of her and her brother with no more particulars. The very next day, the statement was recanted by the family with contesting claims about the sibling duo being very much alive. This gave way to a lot of speculations about the entire death hoax being an elaborate ploy to bring Lil Tay back in the news. Meta's clarification however, puts this matter to rest.